Washington Gladden Social Justice Park facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Washington Gladden Social Justice Park |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Location | 404 E. Broad St., Columbus, Ohio |
| Area | 18,000 sq ft (1,700 m2) |
| Designer | Architectural Gardens and Schieber and Associates |
| Owned by | First Congregational Church |
| Administered by | Governing Board of the Washington Gladden Social Justice Park Tom Worley, director Mark Dahnke, superintendent |
| Public transit access |  Add→ 7, 9, 10, 11 CoGo |
The Washington Gladden Social Justice Park is a special public park located in the Discovery District of Downtown Columbus, Ohio. It opened in 2018. This park is believed to be the very first park in the United States dedicated to social justice. Social justice means making sure everyone is treated fairly and has equal rights, no matter who they are.
About the Park
This park covers about 18,000 square feet, which is a pretty good size for a city park! It's located right next to the First Congregational Church in Columbus.
The park is named after Washington Gladden. He was a very important leader in movements like the Social Gospel and Progressive movements. These movements worked to make society better and fairer for everyone. Gladden was also a minister at the First Congregational Church for 36 years. The park honors him and other local heroes who fought for social justice.
It's special because it's considered the first park in the U.S. focused on social justice. Other parks with similar goals include the Women's Rights National Historical Park in New York and the Civil Rights National Monument in Alabama.
The land for the park belongs to the First Congregational Church. However, it gets money from a special fund that helps pay for its upkeep. A group of church members and community leaders help manage the park.
Park Art and Murals
A main feature of the park is a long concrete wall, about 95 feet long. This wall has featured art that shows important local social justice leaders. It also showed groups like the Society of American Indians and the American Federation of Labor. This mural will eventually be replaced by a new, permanent artwork.
Some of the people shown on the mural included:
- Washington Gladden: A leader for civil rights and social justice.
- Frances Harper: An amazing writer and activist who fought against slavery and for women's right to vote.
- Florence Ellinwood Allen: The first woman to be a judge on the Ohio Supreme Court and one of the first female federal judges.
- Joseph Schonthal: A kind person who helped immigrants and children.
- Celia Jeffrey: A co-founder of the Gladden Community House, which helps people in the community.
- James Preston Poindexter: A politician and civil rights activist. He was the first African-American on the Columbus City Council.
- John Ambrose Watterson: He helped start important hospitals like Mount Carmel and St. Anthony.
The park also has a cool sculpture called One Single Garment of Destiny. It was created by Adriana and Julian Voss-Andreae. This artwork was inspired by a famous letter written by Martin Luther King Jr. The sculpture is very heavy, weighing three tons! It shows several people standing close together, along with a rescued animal.
The sculpture is made of thin steel sheets. From the sides, it looks solid. But from the front, it almost disappears! This design represents people who face big challenges and might feel invisible to society. It also shows how individual people can come together to form a strong, unified group. The sculpture was dedicated in 2021 on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Park History
Before it was a park, this spot was used as a car dealership. Later, around 2010, it became a parking lot for the nearby First Congregational Church.
In 2018, the church decided to create the Washington Gladden Social Justice Park. The church already owned the land. They worked with others to turn the space into a public park. The park was built between March and October 2018. It cost about $3.7 million to build. A big donation from Nancy Jeffrey in 2016 helped start the project. Her family had worked with Washington Gladden on social issues a long time ago. The park officially opened on October 28, 2018.
